Sipley, Gina. "Seeing the Visual," Klingbrief, October 2013. "The American Society for Innovation Design Education (ASIDE), co-founded
by independent school teachers Mercer Hall and Patricia Russac,
publishes a blog that illuminates the visual discourse embedded in the
communication and design of 21st Century information. Rooted in the
principle that design thinking transforms the way children learn, the
ASIDE blog features thematic posts exploring visual representations of
current events and popular culture. Whether writing about the
complexities of the Syrian conflict or the implicit messaging of
Superbowl commercials, Hall and Russac find an exciting and approachable
way to differentiate instruction and to inspire divergent thought.
Their vision of learners as makers and doers is evident in their prose;
each post prompts the reader to engage in a dialectical relationship
with media, to both question it and to create it. The ASIDE Blog also
hosts an impressive catalogue of K-12 curricular resources, including:
an infographics library, a compendium of inspiring student projects, a
catalog of visual education blogs, and a bibliography of scholarly
resources. Their Design in Education Paper.li gathers a daily
compilation of best resources and practices published across the web and
@theASIDEblog frequently tweets tools for interdisciplinary
applications."